Discretionary Housing Payments

If your benefit is not enough and you have special circumstances, you can ask for extra help with your housing costs.

What are Discretionary Housing Payments?

If you are entitled to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit and you still cannot manage to pay your rent and/or Council Tax, you may be able to apply for some extra help.

Discretionary Housing Payments are not payments of benefit (they are worked out separately), but you must already be entitled to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit for us to consider your case. If you are already getting your full Council Tax charge or your full rent paid (except service charges), we cannot give you any more help.

If you have special circumstances, we may be able to give you some extra help with your rent or Council Tax. There are no set rules about the amount of Discretionary Housing Payments we can give you - we look at each case individually.

Each year, the Government will limit the total amount we can award. Once we have reached that amount, we will not be able to make any more Discretionary Housing Payments for the rest of the year, whatever your circumstances.

You can get more information about Discretionary Housing Payments from the Benefits Office.

How to apply for a discretionary housing payment

If you want to apply for Discretionary Housing Payments, you should contact the Benefits Office and ask for an Application Form for Discretionary Housing Payments. You should fill in the form, explaining what your special circumstances are. Then return the form to the Benefits Office.

Or you can print out the application form below and complete it.

DHP Application Form

It will help us to deal with your application if you explain why you or a member of your family might suffer hardship if you do not receive this extra help. Here are some examples of the things we will look at when considering your application.

• Whether your Housing Benefit has been reduced by a Rent Service Decision.
• Whether your home has been adapted for a member of the family who is disabled or suffering from health problems.
• Whether you are behind with your rent and, if so, whether your landlord is taking action to force you to move out of your home.
• Whether you could move to a cheaper property or move in with relatives.
• Whether you could let out a room.
• Whether there is anybody else (for example, a relative) who could help you out financially.
• When you fill in the form, please include all of your special circumstances and provide a detailed breakdown of your income and outgoings. We will also use information on your application for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit to help us decide your case.

We may also want to interview you to find out more details.

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